Gad­get of the month

Stax’s OTT elec­tro­static ear­s­peak­ers

The new Stax SRS-4170 elec­tro­static ear­s­peak­ers are ex­pen­sive and ec­cen­tric, but if you can get past the stigma/awe­some­ness of look­ing as if you have two war­time mics strapped to your head, they also deliver class-leading au­dio. Plug them into the SRM-006TS amp – they won’t work un­less con­nected – and the elec­tric cur­rent passes through a mem­brane in their cups, cre­at­ing sound waves with­out the dis­rup­tion of mov­ing parts. The re­sult? Lim­it­less fre­quen­cies and an empty wal­let. $3,499, brook­fiel­d­au­dio.com.au